Connor (Strauss Bear Shifter Brothers 0f Colorado Book 4) Read online

  Connor

  Strauss Bear Shifter Brothers of Colorado (Book 4)

  Brittany White

  Copyright © 2020 by Brittany White

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Connor

  2. Brooke

  3. Connor

  4. Brooke

  5. Connor

  6. Brooke

  7. Connor

  8. Vince

  9. Brooke

  10. Connor

  11. Brooke

  12. Connor

  13. Brooke

  14. Vince

  15. Brooke

  16. Connor

  17. Vince

  18. Brooke

  19. Brooke

  20. Connor

  21. Brooke

  22. Connor

  Epilogue

  Brittany white

  CODY (EXCERPT)

  Chapter 1

  Also by Brittany White

  Exclusive Offer

  About the Author

  Blurb

  Billionaire bear shifter, Connor Strauss has fallen for the one woman he shouldn’t crave. His natural enemy, and a woman with a deep secret.

  * * *

  Every one of Connor’s brothers have found their mates. He’s happy for them but wants the same for himself. Brooke, the new hire at Cole’s Couture is just too tempting to not obsess over.

  * * *

  As a bear shifter of Colorado, Connor has always been a stickler for the rules, but when it comes to Brooke, he seems to forget about everything else.

  * * *

  He isn’t supposed to find out her secret. One that makes them enemies. She’s the alpha of a pack of wolf shifters, and as much as she wants Connor Strauss, she has to find a way to keep her hands to herself. The tension between the two groups is inevitable.

  * * *

  The conflict might be too much for Brooke to handle and gaining control of her heart would be even harder. Especially since her supposed enemy is the one person who genuinely cares about her. Maybe, even loves her. But will she be able to love him back?

  * * *

  ***

  1

  Connor

  It was winter again at Black Bear Lake, and that meant the lodge was hitting its busiest season. Connor Strauss slipped his hands into his pockets and glared at a tapestry that hung next to a large window that overlooked one of the expert ski slopes outside. The tapestry was a fantastically detailed scene featuring four black bears, all mid-action by a creek, and it looked incredibly dusty.

  Connor pursed his lips as he walked up to it, tapping at it with the tip of his finger. No, just a little faded. He supposed the tapestry was quite old; one of the many Strauss family antiques held over from when his parents ran the lodge. Most such heirlooms were kept at his parents’ estate, but the brothers had managed to get away with quite a few choice items that they displayed proudly around the lodge.

  Connor especially loved their family antiques; they were a reminder of his heritage. At the same time, the pieces gave the place the feel of a family-owned enterprise, which is exactly what the lodge was. He and his three brothers had been running the place for a few years now, overseeing every aspect of the place equally, despite the fact that, technically, the lodge was predominantly his as the eldest. Decision making for and about the lodge was split between the four of them equally, and Connor wouldn't have it any other way.

  Finished with his inspection of the tapestry, Connor nodded to himself and hummed, satisfied, before walking on down the corridor into the depths of the third-floor east wing. The lodge was booked to capacity. Everything had been cleaned, fixed, updated, and given Nathan’s seal of approval, but Connor was still on high alert - always was at the beginning of winter. Cody liked to say it was when Connor was most on edge, but that’s not how he saw it.

  It was just the busiest season, when he needed to pay the most attention and keep his customers satisfied enough to return. He liked to take walks from one end of the grounds to the other, from the honeymoon suite to the employee break room, making sure everything was in tiptop condition and shipshape for what he was hoping would be their most successful season ever.

  He was busy, but the thought occurred to him to go down to the shopping promenade and see if Brooke was around. She had not worked at Cole Couture, one of the fine clothing shops in their small shopping mall, very long. But Connor had already found himself making excuses to check, and usually ended up going back and forth with her, mostly petty arguing. If he was honest, it was often the best part of a day, but he didn’t want his brothers teasing him about Brooke, so he hadn’t mentioned her to any of them. There was no point involving them anyway; it was only a flirtation. That was all. A distraction to take the edge off, a way to vent.

  “Connor!” His brother Nathan appeared from around a corner. The handyman did not look overly pleased, his tool belt loose on his hips. He had been running himself ragged fixing the tiniest little things around the place and Connor knew he’d rather be looking after Emily, his new born cub with his mate, Alanna. “Room thirty-two says their room smells like paint. They’re upset, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  Connor sighed heavily. All the rooms had been repainted recently, but that particular room had to be striped and repainted a second time. He nodded. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to them myself, offer comped room service or something. It should be fine though, I made sure to air it out.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but they’re a little much in there. Good luck.”

  Connor patted Nathan’s shoulder and passed him in the hall before hollering back, “Have lunch with me in the hall later. Bring Em and Alanna. Please?”

  “We’ll be there,” Nathan said, shooting him a finger gun.

  Connor smiled to himself. The thought of hanging out with Nathan and his new family for lunch made him feel lighter, even as he made his way to room thirty-two in an attempt to please the picky guests.

  That conversation took a half hour, and mostly consisted of Connor standing there and listening to the wife of the middle-aged couple whine. He ended up offering champagne and free use of the spa, which was overkill. Bordering on ridiculous, in his opinion, but at the beginning of the season he was much more willing to be generous and solicitous towards guests than at any other time. Nearly any complaint, no matter how small, was likely to get you something for free. Sometimes he suspected they knew that; complaints were more common around this time, but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much.

  Connor found himself slammed with request after request for another hour. Finally, his phone buzzed just as he was heading back to his office and Nathan asked if it was a good time for lunch. Connor was so tired and wanted nothing more than to sit down, but forced himself to text a yes and made his way to the dining hall instead. His stomach rumbled in anticipation of whatever his brother Cody had on the menu for the day.

  The dining hall was pretty packed, but Connor went straight for one of the private dining rooms with the RESERVED sign on the knob and let himself in, nodding at one of the servers as he did. He dropped into a padded dining chair and took a deep breath. He had been on his feet every second since five o’clock in the morning. It felt good to sit for a minute.

  The server was one of the seasonal hires, bright eyed and bushy tailed. They seemed to ge
t younger every year. He poked his head in. “Can I get you something to start, sir?”

  “Yeah, that Moon Bear Brandy we just got in,” Connor said, nodding. “Oh, and that cheese log appetizer. And if you see Nathan or Alanna tell them I’m in here, would you?”

  The server nodded obediently. Connor jogged his leg under the table for a couple of minutes until his drink was set in front of him. Nathan came through the door, carrying baby Emily in a carrier on his chest, followed by Alanna. Connor stood and kissed Emily’s head and gave Alanna a quick hug. Though he had seen them both just the day before, it felt like it had been months.

  “Where’s Eric?” Alanna asked, eyes never leaving Em’s face as she fussed.

  “Still on the front desk,” Connor replied. As the concierge, his youngest brother arguably worked harder than any of them, constantly dealing with customer complaints and requests. The workload had more than doubled since the hotel had reopened.

  “You look tense,” Nathan said, laughing.

  “Yeah, well…” Connor answered with a raised eyebrow.

  “He loves it,” Alanna said firmly, just as the cheese log arrived. She lit up and scooped up a bite. “This is his favorite time of year, I bet.” She chewed and swallowed and nodded at Connor. “You seem to like it, anyway. The kind of guy who wants to stay busy.”

  “Alright, maybe,” Connor said. He pretended to bristle at that, jokingly scowling at Alanna over the rim of his glass as he took another sip of brandy. Emily pointed at him and laughed, and he stuck his tongue out at her. “What about you guys? If there’s anything you need-”

  “Connor,” Nathan said, chuckling, “we’re more than fine.”

  “I’m eager for this little one to start walking and talking,” Alanna said, reaching over to boop Emily’s tiny nose. “Other than that, I’m good.”

  “Good,” Connor said softly, but abruptly he felt a keen sense of melancholy. More and more lately, Connor had felt a hole where there had never been one before. He wanted what all three of his brothers now had. They had found their mates. It had not been easy, but they had fought for love and been rewarded with their soulmates. They were all starting their own families now. Nathan and Alanna had their little cub, Emily. Cody and his mate, Jess, had an entire brood of adopted cubs. Even Eric and his mate, Lydia, were already talking about having cubs someday, although they seemed quite happy since Lydia had just started art school. But they all had a keen eye on their futures together.

  When Connor thought of his future...it looked lonely. He was in his thirties and he was naturally given to want a family of his own. Each day without one seemed a little colder, and if he was honest, he was more than a little jealous of his brothers.

  “I’m glad you guys are happy,” he said, and he meant it. He just wanted some of that happiness for himself. He tried to sound genuine and cheerful on top of that, but he saw the quirk of Nathan’s eyebrow. Nathan knew.

  After lunch, Connor felt a bit better, full of Cody’s prime rib and cheese and just enough brandy to smooth out the rough edges of his nerves. But Nathan didn’t leave with Alanna, who took Emily with her and left a kiss on her mate’s cheek. Instead, Nathan stayed behind to talk to Connor.

  “You alright, man?” Nathan said. “You seem…? Something? I dunno. Just, off.”

  Connor had already spoken to his brothers before about how much he wanted to find a mate and start a family. At a point, it just felt pathetic to keep going on about it.

  “I’m good,” Connor said simply. His tone brooked no argument; Nathan knew better than to push.

  “Oh! There is one more thing,” Nathan said. “I’ve heard a few mentions about a new wolf pack in town. Nothing serious yet, but they’re new and uh, sounds like they’re skirting the edges of our territory. Puts the other bears on edge, you know?”

  “Oh great, something else to worry about,” Connor muttered. But he waved a hand at Nathan’s worried look, nodding. “It’s fine. I’ll keep an eye out.”

  With that, Nathan left, and Connor remained for a couple minutes, sipping his brandy and brooding until he forced himself out of his chair and back to work.

  But instead, he found himself heading to the promenade to look for Brooke.

  2

  Brooke

  Brooke left for work at Cole Couture at seven in the morning every day. The shop didn’t open until nine, but there were new racks and displays to set up as the winter season at the Black Bear Lake Lodge kicked in. Brooke was almost late, parking crookedly in the employee lot and scurrying through the back entrance to the promenade with her thermos of coffee, juggling her bag with her heels and work clothes inside. She was required to wear heels and a simple black pencil skirt and white blouse for her Cole Couture job - not things that could be worn easily to and from the snow filled parking lot.

  Despite the awkward hours and uncomfortable dress code, Brooke was grateful for the job at the promenade’s biggest boutique. When she’d rolled into town with the rest of her wolf pack, jobs had not exactly been assured. They had all just been scraping by since getting driven out of their own land back in Nebraska, and Brooke had been sure she’d end up working fast food for minimum wage.

  When she’d stumbled onto the shop at the very swanky Black Bear Lake Lodge that paid double minimum wage plus commissions, she’d been overjoyed. She’d also been extremely mindful that Black Bear Lake was a bear shifter town. Her wolf pack needed to be careful. There was a lot of open land up in the mountains, plenty of space to run and hunt that was not bear territory, but that didn’t mean she might not face some discrimination.

  The potion that hid her shifter’s scent had taken a while to perfect. She’d bought the recipe and a year’s worth of ingredients from a witch she’d found through the pack. She figured everyone didn’t need to use it, just those who would frequently be in close contact with the bears. Some of them had found work among humans who wouldn’t know a shifter’s scent even if they could smell it.

  So that morning, as usual, she’d dabbed the potion on her neck like perfume. That was all that was needed, which was a relief. Nothing was worse than having to choke down a potion in the morning. And, as usual, she’d opened the store with a feeling of anticipation. It was an anticipation that she hated to admit to.

  Connor Strauss…

  Would he come in, pretending to shop while instead taking his sweet time starting some silly argument or judging the way she’d set up a window display? He was always trying his best to get under her skin. Usually he came by in the morning, while obviously right in the middle of going about his business in the lodge. He always seemed to find a few minutes to give her a hard time. Occasionally, Brooke ran across Connor elsewhere in the lodge - in the foyer or the dining hall or the lounge. He seemed to be everywhere.

  On this particular day, Brooke didn’t see Connor until well after lunch. It threw her off a little. She spent half her morning with her ears perked up, sometimes sniffing the air for his distinct scent; sandalwood and something extra, something she didn’t want to admit was nice. Instead, it was only customer after customer who came to the store looking for whatever the hot new trend was in winter wear.

  It was around two when Connor finally came by. Brooke sniffed him out before she saw him, and then he was striding into the store. She hated herself for glancing at her reflection in the small mirror her co-workers kept next to the cash register, and hated herself even more for making sure her red hair was arranged nicely.

  He was wearing one of his dark suits today and for some reason that irked her. He looked fantastic in dark colors; they emphasised the way his jet black hair curled over his ears. She didn’t know why he wasted so much product trying to hide that fact that he had curls. He often had a thin beard growing in, but today he was clean shaven. His stark jawline made his blue eyes pop.

  Connor was crazy attractive and that was vexing.

  “Brooke!” Connor leered as he approached. He looked way too happy to see her, and she coul
dn’t decide if that was because he was excited to tease her and flirt in his annoying way or because he actually enjoyed her presence. Probably the latter.

  He’s a bear shifter, she reminded herself. Of course he gets off on being a dick. An attractive dick, but still a dick.

  “How are you doing this fine morning?” Connor leaned against her shop counter, his hand smudging the glass she’d wiped clean not an hour ago. He took a mint from the bowl by the register and popped into his mouth. She watched his thick fingers and the way his tongue flicked out to curl round the mint. Her breath was a little short, and that was vexing too.

  “I was doing fine until you showed up,” Brooke snarked back, smirking up at him. He had to be a foot taller than her. It was like he was built to infuriate her. “Don’t you have something better to do than come in here and bother me? Or is it your brothers who do all the real work?”

  The insult was meant to bring him up short, but Connor seemed to like it. He popped a second mint into his mouth and smiled as though genuinely pleased. “They probably do,” he said, shrugging as if the thought didn’t bother him at all. “Anyway, I’m here on business.”

  “Sure you are,” Brooke said, raising her eyebrow.